She Says… Waiting and Working Out

Still waiting. Although the pregnancy test the doc gave me last week was negative, I’m still waiting for my period. And waiting to take another test. And still feeling a little pregnant! To keep my mind off of waiting (yeah, right!) I am trying to stick to my normal, busy schedule. That means going to the gym almost every day after work. And, given my unquenchable thirst for knowledge by way of overzealous Googling, now I’m beginning to worry about research the effect of working out on the little blastocyst that may or may not exist inside me.

Not surprisingly, there is inconclusive (not to mention entirely contradictory) research surrounding this issue. Some say exercise leads to miscarriage. Others say pregnant women need to exercise more than they already do. Many sources say that moderate exercise is healthy for a pregnant woman, but not to let your heart rate go above 140 beats per minute. As with most things, I think “moderation” is the key here. However, that recommendation to keep your heart rate below 140 bpm worries me. In the last year or so, I have become quite the gym rat. I got a heart rate monitor and use it to push my intensity in every workout, often shooting my heart rate up to the high 170’s, which is over 80% of my maximum heart rate.

It goes without saying that I shouldn’t be doing extreme training workouts if I’m pregnant. However, the last few days I have tried to keep my heart rate under 140 (just in case!), and it’s almost impossible. It seems like all I can do is walk. I already walk. A lot. And I’d like to be able to maintain my current level of fitness throughout my pregnancy… so I guess I’ll just try to listen to my body and not push it too hard. That will be an adjustment for this faithful gym-goer.

I guess all of the lifestyle adjustments I am making (eating right, exercising right, etc.) will be a whole lot easier once I find out if I’m actually preggo or not. Making these changes not knowing if I am or not is frustrating. Maybe another pregnancy test is in my future? I’m trying to make it to Saturday morning, but we’ll see if I can wait that long ;)